Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
You, the Temple of God, Are Sacred
Liturgical Cycle: A, B, C | Lectionary Cycle: I, II
Introduction
Greeting
Know that this place is holy
because the Lord is here among us.
Know that we ourselves are called to be holy
for we are God’s temple.
May the Lord Jesus always stay with you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
Christians build churches to worship God. But churches have no meaning unless they point towards the Church, the body of Christ animated by his Spirit. God is present in the first place where his people are, with their faith and hope and love. We are the Church, and by the grace of God we make the Church; we are its living building stones. When we come to church we express that we are God’s living people who build our lives on Christ.
Penitential Act
Too often we forget to live as God’s people.
Let us ask the Lord to forgive us.
(PAUSE)
Lord Jesus,
when we forget our responsibilities
as Christians in today’s world,
forgive us:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ,
when we do not build our life
on you as our firm foundation,
forgive us:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus,
when we do not build a community
in which you are visibly alive,
forgive us:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord,
and forgive us all our sins.
Make us really your Church, live among us
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray that we may truly be
the Church of Jesus Christ
(PAUSE)
God our Father,
you have called us through your Son
to be a community of faith, love and service
built on the only firm foundation,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Fill us with his Spirit,
that we may be your Church in word and deed,
making no demands, seeking no privileges,
not trying to dominate and control.
Help us to bring joy to all,
to love without excluding anyone,
and to serve without demanding gratitude.
May we thus be the living house of God
filled with the presence of your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
First Reading
Life-giving water: Ezekiel sees life-giving water flowing from the temple, transforming stagnant waters and bringing life wherever it goes. Along its banks, fruitful trees offer food and healing, revealing the abundance that comes from God’s presence
The Spring of the Temple
The man took me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water flowing out from the threshold and moving eastward. The temple faced east, and the water flowed from the south side of the temple, near the south side of the altar.
He then led me out through the north gate and around to the outside, to the outer gate facing east; there I saw the stream coming from the south side.
He said to me: “This water flows eastward, down to the Arabah, and when it reaches the Sea of Foul-Smelling Water, the water will become healthy.
Wherever the river goes, swarms of creatures will live in it; fish will be abundant, and the seawater will turn fresh. Wherever it flows, life will flourish.
Along both banks of the river, there will be all kinds of fruit trees with leaves that never wither and fruit that never fails; each month they will produce a fresh crop because the water comes from the temple. The fruit will be tasty to eat, and the leaves will be used for healing.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (5) The waters of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High!
God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
Therefore, we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.
R. The waters of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High!
There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God,
the holy dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be disturbed;
God will help it at the break of dawn.
R. The waters of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High!
The LORD of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Come! behold the deeds of the LORD,
the astounding things he has wrought on earth.
R. The waters of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High!
Second Reading
Paul reminds the Corinthians that Christ is the Church’s one foundation and that they are God’s holy temple, where the Spirit dwells. His words call them to build their community faithfully and to honour the holiness of God’s presence among them.
We are coworkers with God, but you are God’s field and building.
As a good builder, given the foundation I was trusted with, I laid it, and others must build on it. Everyone should be careful about how they build on it.
No one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Do you realize that you are God’s temple and that his Spirit dwells in you?
If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I have chosen and consecrated this house, says the Lord,
that my name may be there forever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
You Are God’s Building: The Christian community itself is the building constructed in God’s honour. Each of us is a living stone in it, with Christ as our foundation. God lives in his community.
Jesus Purifies the Temple
As the Passover of the Jews was approaching, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
In the temple courtyard, he saw merchants selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and moneychangers seated at their tables.
Making a whip out of cords, he drove them all out of the temple courtyard, along with the oxen and sheep. He knocked over the tables of the moneychangers, scattering the coins
and then ordered the people selling doves: “Take all this away and stop making a marketplace of my Father’s house!”
His disciples remembered the words of Scripture: Zeal for your house consumes me like fire.
The Jews then questioned Jesus:
“What sign can you show us for doing this?”
Jesus answered them:
“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”
The Jews then replied:
“The building of this temple has already taken forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?”
But he was speaking of the temple of his body.
It was only after he had risen from the dead that his disciples remembered these words; then they believed both the scripture and the words Jesus had spoken.
Prayers of the Faithful
Let us pray to Jesus our Lord that his Christian community may be more aware that they are the people and temple of God, and let us also pray for the needs of all people, and of all the world. Let us say: R/ Lord, build community with us.
– That in our Christian communities all may contribute time and effort toward a better, more evangelical Church, let us pray: R/ Lord, build community with us.
– That our organizations in our dioceses and parishes may cooperate better with one another, so that by their teamwork and unity all the faithful become more the one body of Christ, let us pray: R/ Lord, build community with us.
– That all our Christian Churches may work toward the unity to which they are called by Jesus, the one Shepherd of all, let us pray: R/ Lord, build community with us.
– That the leaders of the world may seek peace in the world community and look for common solutions for common problems, while respecting each others’ identity, rights and dignity, let us pray: R/ Lord, build community with us.
– That those living in security may welcome strangers and refugees, people without a home or a country, and show them the warmth of hospitality, let us pray: R/ Lord, build community with us.
– And finally, that this community may always be aware that it is united in faith and love, in hope and service with the pope and with the world-wide Church, let us pray: R/ Lord, build community with us.
Lord Jesus, you wanted to live among people. Make your Church more and more the space where people can meet in your name, for you are our Lord forever. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
we bring before you
these gifts of bread and wine
to remember that Jesus Christ is among us.
May he be to all of us
our way, our truth, our life.
And may he become alive among us
through his Holy Spirit,
not only in these signs and this place
but in the whole wide world,
in a renewed, living Church,
in a renewed, authentic Christianity,
where he is our Lord for ever and ever. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
Together with Christ who is the foundation stone on which we are built as his body, we offer to our Father the worship of this eucharist and of our lives.
Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer
In this house of prayer
let us pray to our Father in heaven
the prayer of trust of his Son Jesus: R/ Our Father...
Introduction to the Rites of Peace and the Breaking of Bread
In the Christian community and in life
we are on the way with one another,
we seek peace and long for happiness.
Here in this house of prayer
the Lord Jesus breaks the bread of life for us.
Let us also break bread for one another
and pray for the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
The peace of the Lord be with you always. R/ And also with you.
Invitation to Communion
This is the body of Jesus the Lord.
He gives himself to us
that we may become more
his body, the Church. R/ Lord, 1 am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
you have filled this house and us
with the presence of your Son;
he has spoken his Word to us,
he has shared himself with us
as our food on the road of life.
May we now be your sign to the world
that your Son is alive among us.
May our search and concern for justice,
for human dignity,
for love, integrity and unity,
give praise to you and proclaim to all
that we are your people
and that Jesus Christ is our Lord,
now and forever. R/ Amen.
Blessing
When we speak and think of the Church
we should keep in mind that the Church,
the community of the People of God,
is more important than the church building.
We are the body of Christ
and in us people should recognize the Lord
and feel his presence.
May this become fully true in us,
with the blessing of almighty God,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go in peace, and be the sign
that Christ is alive in the world of today. R/ Thanks be to God.
REFLECTIONS
Sense of holy makes God’s dwelling
John 2:13-22
A master asks his disciples: "Where does the Most High dwell?"
They replied, “He dwells in the heavens.”
The master concluded: "The Most High lives only where he is allowed to enter".
The temples may remain mere magnificent structures and huge spaces for the animation of some ceremonies and organisation of some events and celebrations but not a dwelling place of God when the intention of its establishment and of people are defective. Because God’s temples are abodes of unity, surrender, and serenity, and springs of strength and renewal of souls and relationships. When our intentions become integral and transcendent, everything will reveal sacredness.
Jesus, in today’s gospel, charges people who treated everyone and everything as product to be exchanged or bargained. Because God’s dwelling cannot be reduced into a place of exchange between supply and demand. Such loss of the sense of the sacred is not only a matter that pertains to religion, it leads to the loss of the basic sense of dignity and reverence toward life and human persons themselves.
God cannot be bought with sacrifices. He loves us and expects from us a free heart that responds to His love. God cannot be merited, but welcomed with a humble heart. The prophet Ezekiel indicates this divine presence and action through the symbolism of the temple water. It has the efficacious power to refresh, enliven, nourish and heal.
In a culture of consumerism, which proposes a subjective value depends on their utility than their true value, there is a tremendous decline of the sense of interiority and simplicity. Thereby we have lost sight of the truth that “we are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in us.” Instead of bargaining and contracting with God, let us allow Him to visit all the rooms in our hearts that He may make place for everything and everything in its original place.
Let us preserve the external and internal beauty of the temple by reawakening the sanctity of the temple, the community, and the human person. When our communities and each of us become more holy, our temples become truly houses of God, thereby, our life itself may become meditation and prayer.